*  Please note this is a series.  To read Day One, click here.  To read Day Two click here and for Day Three, click here.

Gossiper.  Slut.  Back-Stabber.  Alcoholic.  Baby-Killer.  Cheat. Liar Druggie. Unworthy. Not “enough”.

Uplifting words to start a post, no?

Yet I’ve seen, and experienced, time and time again the lies we choose to believe about who we are instead of the truth.

These labels are sometimes slapped on us by others and sometimes by our very own selves. Like the self-fulfilling prophecy, we soon begin to believe it to be true of who we are.

I’m a gossiper so therefore, I gossip.  I’m an alcoholic so therefore, I drink excessively. I’m a cheat so I cheat, a liar so I lie – you get the picture.

Perhaps, like me, you’ve made some bad choices.  Perhaps, like I once did, you allowed yourself to be defined by those bad choices because, after all, isn’t that just part of the consequences of those lapses in judgement? Don’t we just have to endure the ghosts that visit the quiet corners of our thoughts?

Perhaps you don’t realize that you’re beloved.  Adopted by the King of Kings.  Fellow Heir with Christ.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Maybe you’re like me and though you know you’re a new creation and all that, you still have days you forget.

You root yourselves not in His truth but in the truth of what the world wants you to believe.

Your identity is based on tangible goods.  Your relationships.  Your roles.  Your success.

All things that can be taken away in the blink of an eye.

And when those things are taken away, when we feel them begin to rumble a bit and we know they’re about to go, then what?  Who are we then?

So we begin to fear and fear (which we’ll address with it’s own separate post in the future) is the root of a myriad of thoughts that stink.

Fear does not come from God.  Ever.

Sure there’s that healthy kind of fear, like fearing God.  I’m not talking about that kind.

I’m talking about the fear that results when the very things we build our house upon begin to rattle and shake.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. – Matthew 7:24-27

When we build our house on sand, sisters, it’s a slippery slope.  Literally. The very essence of our being can be yanked from us at a moment’s notice and we’re left bereft and dumbfounded as we try to pick up the pieces and do it all over again.

Unless.

You discover  it’s time to build your house on rock.  And, if you’re like me, maybe it’s taken you a few tries to get this lesson.  Maybe you kept rebuilding on sand only to keep sinking until one day, you finally began to wonder that maybe it’s true.  Maybe building our house on rock is actually worth the investment.

But how do we build that foundation and discover who we are in His eyes?

1.  Get in the word.  You’ve heard it time and time again.  You know you “should” (do you also know that I despise the word “should”?) but there just isn’t enough_______ (fill in the blank – I’ve filled it with many reasons why I can’t.) The only way to learn who you are in His eyes is to read His words to you and understand how He rolls.

2.  Listen to music that tells you who you are.  I have a host of songs I love to listen to when I forget.  My latest favorite is “Redeemed” by Big Daddy Weave.  And Jason Gray’ “Who I Am”.  “The Voice of Truth” and “Who Am I” by Casting Crowns. “Beautiful” by MercyMe. “In Better Hands” by Natalie Grant. There are several and I would love to hear your’s.

3.  Watch the “Father’s Love Letter” and download the corresponding PDF that tells us who we are in His eyes.  Hang where you will see it every day.

4.  Pick a few of those scriptures and memorize them.  They’ll be your bullets on those days when you feel like your house might be sinking.

Fearfully and wonderfully made.  Knit together in your mother’s womb. Numbered hairs. Chosen when Creation was planned. Loved with an everlasting love. Plans with hope and a future.

So, when we forget His words and our thoughts start to stink, may we  sprinkle the sweet aroma of truth over the lies that can so easily take us down.

What about you – what do you do when you forget who you are to Him?  What are your favorite songs?